Phosphorescent :: House of Cards

One of our favorite releases of 2018, on C’est La Vie Matthew Houck returned to the path he set out 18 years ago as Phosphorescent. In the five years that lapsed between his previous record, Houck married his lover and bandmate Jo Schornikow, left Brooklyn/moved to Nashville and started a family. But wait. Far from defanged, the new material finds the artist in peak form, world building and elongating the themes that have defined his past six albums. Which brings us to Radiohead.

Recorded last month in New York City at SIRIUS XM, Houck cut an acoustic cover of In Rainbows’ outlier “House of Cards”. Here, the song’s lyrical sentiment aches a bit more, with Houck’s vox approaching near mewl, contrasting the (comparatively) detached approach of Yorke on the original. As material goes, the tune is a natural fit for Phosphorescent. Something like tailor-made.

Phosphorescent :: House of Cards (Radiohead)